Structural unit



1944- G. F. DALTON, 2D

STRUCTURAL UNIT Fil8d Oct- 21, 1943 3 w R E mm t 5 M W .w m5 n cf, 11m m 3 4.

l MI H H H PfH I I I I I g Patented Nov. 21, 1-944 s'mnorrURAL George ,FiDalton, II, Cleveland fleightsi ohio Applioaitionflctober 21, 19.43, Serial Natural-6;

4 claims. (01. 20-91 This inventionrelates as indicated to structural units and lmore especially to a prefabricated unit so constructed and arranged that aqplurality of t such units maybe convenientlycombined to build up a continuous of utility. It is a principal object of my invention to prostructure having a wide range yide a unit oi the character described which utilizes to the fullest possible extent the strength 0f the components of which it is constructed.

It is a ,further .object ,of myflinvention to provide .a unit which may beffabricated either of .metal, ,wood or synthetic materials and which is oi great strength and rigidity while employing any ,aminimum weight of suchmaterial.

.fioorings, shoringsorthe large variety of types of struictures "which will be apparent to "those familiar :with :the art, consists in its preferred embodiment ofspaced plates and Zarranged in substantially parallel relation. These plates are 1. maintained in assembled and spaced relation "by (It is. a further andrmore vspecificwobjflctflof my invention to provide .astructure .of the character described which ,may be,usedneither singly or in multiple .and when, a plurality ;.of .suclrinunits is combined. it maybe assembled or disassembled with .a minimum of. effort while .at the same time 3 ,providing .an extremely rigid and strong struc 'ture; l

Other objects of 'my invention will appear as the description proceeds. 1. 1 l

To the accomplishment; of the .foregoing and related ends, the invention; then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described; and particu- ,larly pointed outin the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments -of the invention, these being indicative however, of but a new of the various ways in which the principle -.0f the invention may be employed.

:itnXsaid annexed drawing:

"Fig. :1 lisa broken plan viewshowing one :em- 7 bodimentofthe principles ofmy invention; Fig. 2 is :a transverse sectional view of a portion .of the structure illustrated inFig. 1 taken on alplane tudinally into the locking slot along the edge of the structure. .The grooves provided by means substantially indicated by the line ."2- 42; 3 l

"is an enlarged sectional 'view of a portion of the 'strudtureillustrated in Fig: 2 Fig.4 is aperspective 'view of one cornerof a unit constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 5 is a -perspecti-ve view of a key or looking bar which may. "be employed for the purpose of maintaining in assembled *relation a plurality of units such as those illustratedin the previous figures; andyFig.

i6 is a force diagram of a small section a: of the "structure illustrated in Fig. 3.

ployed.

means of :a plurality of ribs or spacer members 3, pref erably arranged at right angles to the plates ll :and 2.. The spacerrmembershi whichyextend in the same direction are preferably-parallel with respect to eachother andat right-angles to suc spacer members as extend transversely.

In the corners where thevariouscomponents of the, assembly abut,I have provided fillets such as 4 whichniay be of any conventional cross- :section such as a quarter round triangle, recltangle, etc.

Atthe margins o'fthe unit as thus constructed,

; i the plates extend slightly beyondthespacer-members and onea cho'f such marginal portions there is provided a longitudinally[extending member "5 with each pair of suchgmenibers provided with an undercurrent recess 'forrningone component of a male and female connection by which a plurality of the units may be combined into a composite structure. Asa convenient means i of thus assembling and interlocking a plurality of these units, 1 have provided a key or looking bar 5 which has grooves l on opposite faces thereof complementary to the slope of the faces of. the elements 5 sofas to securely. interlock therewith as the keymember 6 is inserted lonsie of the members 5 as wellas the grooves] in the key member 6 may be tapered either'transversely or longitudinally or both, depending uponthe particular use to which the ultimate structure is to be placed. I,

The bar -6 is merely illustrative of the many forms of interlocking bars which may. be used. Anyof the wide variety of available #tenon' or tongue and .groovewcombinati'ons .zmay be*em- The particular form iselected forilme will ;be determined by the particular .use "for i which :the ultimate assembly is designed.

As previously indicatedgth'e various parts-which comprise one unit, i. e.the platesPl and 2,.the

Referring now ,more, particular y to Figs..' "lic whichas previously indicated ma be'used either the building unitcomprising myinventionand singly or in multiplein the construction"ofwalls,

spacers3, the fillets [and the members 5,"may

all be formed of thelsameor different materials depending again upon considerations or economy and the desired use-for which the *unit is made.

an the preferred embodiments of? my invention however, the elements I, 2 and '3 are an made of plywood being built up of such a number of different sheets as to provide thestrength required. It is an essential feature of my invention that all of the parts thus assembled united by means of an atomic bond. By the use of the term atomic bond as employed in this specification and throughout the appended claims, I intend to include either a weld or similar bond in case the elements are made of metal, and a glued or similarly cemented .joint incase the. elements are, made of wood or other non-metallic material. The employment of an atomic bond throughout the entire assembly for the purpose of joining the various parts is, as indicated, a very important factor since the prevention of all relative movement between the various parts of the assembly is one of the principal factors responsible for the extremely high and unexpected strength and rigidity of the structure as thus made. In practical tests on structures made in accordance with the foregoing description, it has been demonstrated that the parts will carry many times the load which materials such as plywood would ordinarily be expected to carry. By the atomic bonding of the entire assembly preventing any relative movement between its component parts, any applied load will be resolved into either a vertical or horizontal shear, the type of-stress to which materials like plywood are best capable of withstanding.

It is further and important factor that the normal plane of the spacer members 3 is at substantially rightyangles to the normal plane of the sheets or plates I and 2;

By the use of the term normal plane as used herein and throughout the appended claims, I

intend to indicate the plane of the element in 1 question which is determined by the direction of grain structure in such element. Thus, in a composite plywood plate the normal plane thereof is generally parallel to the flat surface of such plate. Arranging the various elements vof the assembly with the normal planes thereof mum along the lines of the neutral axis I3 of the web member 3, Figure 3.

Fig. 6 represents a small unit area a: removed from web 3. The vertical shearing forces 9 are equal and opposite. Likewise the horizontal shearing forces ID are equal and opposite. The

resultant force I I between vertical force 9 and" horizontal force II] is a diagonal tensile force. By the same reasoning the resultant force I2 is a diagonal compressive force. Diagonal tensile force II would have the tendency to pull or disrupt any web material 3.

' By using a fillet element 4 atomically bonded to elements I3 and 2,-3 the horizontal forces III can be properly transmitted into covers I and 2.

However, elements 4 may be eliminated when the connection or bond between elements I and 3; and 2 and 3 is sufficient to develop the desired strengthof panel.

v It .isa known proven fact that the shearing strength of some materials such as wood across the grain is far greater than with the grain, and

that the tensile and compression strength with the grain is far greater than across the grain. Being aware of the above facts I have conceived the idea of utilizing materials having great shearing tensile and compressive strength in all directions. Plywood issuch a material.

Development of stresses, as indicated above, in my unit has been borne out by actual laboratory tests on panels showing enormous strength and development of the full strength of the material. I I

The unit comprising my invention may be employed as indicated either singly or in multiple and may be used in either permanent or temporary structures wherever it is desired to provide a wall or beam capable of carrying great loads. One particularly desirable use of the unit of my invention is in building up shorings or forms in concrete construction whether the surface of the green concrete to be supported is vertical or horizontal. Not only may the various units be quickly and easily joined together by means of a key member such as 6, but after the shoring or form work is to be removed they may be as easily and quickly disassembled without damage to the individual units so that they may be used over many times.

The foregoing is a indication of only 'a few of the advantages and uses of my construction and is only a partial explanation of the reasons for the great strength and rigidity of the unit which has been described. Further uses and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art and a fuller understanding of the reasons for such great strength and rigidity may be appreciated from a more detailed study in which the manner of the stresses are distributed and carried may be developed in greater detail, a study which however is believed not necessary in the present description of the basic principles of my invention. V

I Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:- 1. A structural unit comprising spaced substantially parallel relatively thin sheets, thin spacer members extending transversely between said sheets, said spacer members being positioned inwardly of and adjacent to and extending along the transverse edges of said sheets, fillet members in the corners between the interior surfaces of said sheets and the interiorsurfaces of said spacer members,' elongated, substantially flat locking members positioned in the corners between the interior surfaces of sheets and the exterior surfaces of said spacer members, the elongated locking members and fillet members being coextensive on opposite sides of the spacer members, said sheets, spacer members, fillet members and locking members being of wood and being atomically bonded at their surfaces of contact, each of said locking members having an angular surface that forms an undercut recess in conjunction with an exterior surface of a spacer member. l

2. A structural unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said sheets and spacer members are formed of plywood.

3. A structural unit as defined in claim l wherein said locking members are spaced in wardly from said transverse edgesof the sheets.

4. A wall comprising a number of structural units as defined in claim 1, said units being joined together by locking bars, each of said locking bars having two plane parallel sides abutting parallel portions of said spacer members on two adjacent f5 structural units, said bar also having oppositely disposed V shaped surfaces, which connect said parallel surfaces, one of said V shaped surfaces engagingan undercut recess on one unit and an undercut recess on an adjacent unit "and the other of said V shaped surfaces engaging two other undercut recesses on the same adjacent structural units, whereby the transverse edges of adjacent structural units are drawn into tight abutting relationship. 3

GEORGE F. DALTON, II. 

